Family Dynamics
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Emma realizes that her friends' families work a little different than hers.


JustMeAndMyKeyboard requested a Red Snowing one shot where Emma realizes that not everyone has three parents. Guys, she writes amazing Charming Family one shots and she's so close to hitting the 3,000 mark, so go send her some requests!

I've decided to set this in the Enchanted Forest, because I don't feel I've covered the Red Snowing family there yet.

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Emma was starting to get confused, very confused. She was only 4-years-old, but something just didn't seem right. She wasn't sure why she hadn't realized it until recently, but her best friend, Alexandra, only had two parents. She had one mommy, one daddy. No mama. Her other friend, Isabella, only had two mommies, yet no daddy. Looking around, she realized that there were only a few other children that had three parents like her. There was Phil, the son of Aurora, Phillip and Mulan, then Roland and Henry, the children of Regina, Robin and Marian.

She didn't want to make Alexandra and Isabella feel bad. Her Auntie Ella, Uncle Thomas, Auntie Merida and Auntie Tiana were all nice people. She knew sometimes people died and weren't around anymore, like her grandparents. In fact, Granny only ever spoke of her late husband, never another wife. Was it too sad for them to talk about?

Emma bided her time, waiting to ask the question when they were all together. Red and Snow were feeding her little siblings, while David was looking over some paperwork. Slowly, Emma put down her wooden train.

"Mama?" She asked.

Ruby looked up from Charlotte. "Yes, pup?"

"Did you have another grandma, other than Granny?"

"Nope. My grandfather died before I was born."

"Oh. But…what about Alexandra? Did she have a mama that died? Did Isabella have a daddy?"

Snow, David and Ruby all exchanged some confused glances at first. They didn't quite understand what Emma was getting at. That's when it dawned on her. They never had to explain that some people had two mommies, because Emma did. However, they never thought they'd have to explain that some people only had two parents overall.

Putting Neal and Charlotte down in their playpen, Ruby and Snow lead David over to their eldest, kneeling in front of her.

"Emma, sometimes people only have one mommy and a daddy or two daddies or two mommies. Sometimes they even only have one mommy or one daddy," Snow explained, realizing that Emma was too young to remember that Regina had adopted Henry as a single parent before she met Robin and Marian. "Auntie Ella and Uncle Thomas found true love with each other, just the two of them."

"Just like Auntie Merida and Auntie Tiana found true love with just them," David continued. "There's nothing wrong with that, true love just comes in all forms."

"Oh." Emma paused. "So, I don't have to find a husband and a wife? I could just find one."

"Exactly," Ruby said with a smile.

"Or you could find none at all and live in our castle forever," David chimed in with a smile.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to your daddy. Someday you might find your prince or princess, maybe even a knight."

Emma giggled and scrambled onto her daddy's lap. "Nuh uh, Daddy's my prince, Mommy's my princess and you're my knight!"

The three spouses exchanged a huge smile, each pressing a kiss to her cheek. They knew that answer was going to change in time (David selfishly hoped it was after he was deceased), but it was sweet nonetheless. They didn't care if Emma found one spouse or two, same with Neal and Charlotte. They just wanted their three children to find happiness, no matter who it was with. It was also important that their children accepted all the sorts of families that there was. After all, not everyone had been so accepting to their dynamic.

However, they knew that Emma, Neal and Charlotte were lucky. They were being raised to know that they'd be accepted no matter what. What else would be expected from a family built on true love?

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I do accept prompts! Whether it be on here, Tumblr or Twitter. I have two Tumblr accounts: just-an-outlaw and justanoutlawfanfiction. My Twitter is: justanoutlawfic.


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